Secret Service Investigating Staples Security Breach

BySUSANNA KIM ABCNews logo
Tuesday, October 21, 2014

Staples may have a hard time finding an "Easy Button" in response to a data breach that the U.S. Secret Service is now investigating.

Staples, which is based in Framingham, Massachusetts, confirmed late Monday that it is "investigating a potential issue involving credit card data and has contacted law enforcement."

"U.S. Secret Service is assisting Staples in its investigation," an agency spokesman told ABC News.

Security blogger Brian Krebs had previously reported that there was a possible breach at Staples, following incidents at Kmart, Target and Home Depot.

"We take the protection of customer information very seriously, and are working to resolve the situation," a statement from Staples Inc. read. "If Staples discovers an issue, it is important to note that customers are not responsible for any fraudulent activity on their credit cards that is reported on a timely basis."

"If the investigation confirms that Staples has, in fact, experienced a breach of customer data, they would be well advised to respond with urgency, transparency and empathy toward their customers," Adam Levin, chairman and founder of Identity Theft 911, said. "This is yet another Paul Revere moment for the retail community and as been demonstrated time and time again, there is no easy button approach to security, breach preparedness or breach response."

ABC News' Aaron Boyd contributed to this report.

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